Paris Disneyland - Day 2

Day 2 Paris and we were off to EuroDisney, yeahhhhh. I think me and Mr J were more excited than the kids :) Eurodisney has its own trainstop , Marne-la-Vallee ( Parcs Disneyland) on the RER ( Paris Regional Trains) red line A, destination Marne-la-Vallee. A one way tram and train ticket costs Euro6.30 and brings you right to Disney's front gate in 1/2 an hour. Here's where you can print out the route map.

Below are the park rates. Tip, Paris hotels can issue you tickets for 1 day adult at kids prices, so thats what we did and saved some Euro's for croissants :)

	Child (Euro)	Adult (Euro)
1 day 1 park	52	62
1 day 2 park	62	69
2 day pass	109	122
355 day pass		139
365 day pass		199

EuroDisney is gorgeous with beautiful landscaping and awesome great rides, among the bestsellers and those with the longest que's are 'Pirates of the Carribean' , "Buzz Lightyear' , 'Star Wars', and definitely don't miss the interactive show with Stitch, it was so cool. We missed so many other rides because the que's were just crazy. It was an amazing but tiring day, hopefully the pictures can show that :) There is also a huge branded warehouse mall just one train stop from Disney but we were just so exhausted had to give it a miss, a reason to make another visit, 'wink'.

View from the Main Street

Sleeping Beauty's Castle, aaah every girl's dream

Screaming their lungs out !

The finale show, a dream come true :)

Paris in Spring - Day 1

Its been a gorgeous spring here in the Netherlands and I can't help feel happy and bright too :) I hope all my fellow crafters are too , wherever you may be, celebrate life !

It was Easter weekend last 2 weeks and we decided to take the kids to Paris. We drove, took us 4.5 hours from Rotterdam but it was beautiful seeing the change of landscapes from flat pastures of the Netherlands to rural farm like lands of Belgium to then the rolling fields of France. There is also a fast train which connects Amsterdam to Paris within 2.5 hours via Thalys.

Our hotel was in the Montparnasse area. Really excellent location for good budget hotels right in the city centre with lots of cafes and bakeries all around and most important, the metro station right across the road. An adult 1 day metro ticket cost euro6.80 and kids was euro3.40. You can also buy a packet of 10 single journey tickets that cost euro12 and euro6 for kids. A single metro ticket would cost euro1.70 with no discount for kids. Be sure to pick up the handy mini map of Paris from your hotel.

We checked-in, washed up then out again and on to the metro. Our first stop, of course Une Eiffel! I've seen her a few times in my life but every time there's that sense of wonder and excitement, I have to say she is amazing. There are a few stops where you can get to her but the best view is metro stop 'Trocadero' on line no 6 and 9. As expected , we went photo crazy :)

We didn't go up though, the que was just phenomenal even though it was already 7pm. So we took a river cruise on the Seine, which passed by the Louvre and Notre Dame and we managed to see it just at sun set, sorry too dark for good shots. I love the bridges crossing the Seine, spectacular.

Day 2 will be coming up, stay tuned :) and have a good weekend. My kids are back and demanding milk and brownies, hmphhh.

European Blockbuster Giveaway!

Hello Crafters, awww I still have tears watching William and Kate just now, they looked so happy. I'm hoping many happy years for the two of them.

Ok people, listen up! My first ever giveaway and I'm really excited. Do the following to win some awesome gifts, easy as A, B, C :-) Oh Yes, there will be 3, yup 3 winners !!!

1. Become my follower
2. Leave a comment on this post stating which of the fabrics you would love to win and why :) Please list 2 in case the other is already taken
3. Tell me who you like to sew for, name of your child etc ( hint: there will be extra gifts based on your         answer :-))
4. blog about this giveaway and link it up in your comment

Giveaway ends 31st May  Sunday 29th May

And now, for the goodies yeahhhhh

First winner will get a copy of April Burda Style and Ottobre Spring. 2nd and 3rd will get a copy of Burda Style each. See here for gorgeous Spring Ottobre designs

Now choose your 1.25 mtr of gorgeous European cotton

 Pink daisy

 Blue hearts

Green Forest

Green daisy

Pink Forest

Blue Stripes

White Daisy

Pink Cotton Jersey

Grey Blooms Cotton Jersey

And examples of the 'extras' , surprise surprise

There are a few designer fabrics there , but I wont tell which :-) Have a good weekend !

Keukenhof - Garden of Holland

 Yes its here, beautiful spring has arrived on the shores of the Nederlands ! The days are long and bright and temperatures are reaching 25C, baby duckies are waddling after their mommies and the flowers, oh the flowers are a riot of colors.

The Keukenhof, dubbed the 'Most beautiful Spring Garden in the World'. It lies in the small town of Lisse, surrounded by fields of flowers as far as the eye can see. There is a Flower Parade that passes once a year from Amsterdam down to Harlem I think. I thought I was being clever by combining the gardens and Parade in one day. Phew, a 25 min bus ride from Leiden to Keukenhof ended up being 1 1/2 hrs and not to mention the mile long que to get on the bus! Yup, everyone it seems had the same idea, sheesh :-(

BY the time we arrived, we were exhausted and swarm of humans rushing pass us to get to the roadside where the Parade would pass amounted to a few hundreds! So, we went the opposite way and entered the Keukenhof Gardens. It was spectacular to say the least and we had a great day.

Those are huge tulips !

Thats charming miss Hailey, Danny's classmate. Just look at those reds

Hyacinths, has become my favorite flower, smells so sweet

Danny is standing at 118cm, yup, those blooms are humongous!

No Flash 

The fields of flowers , an aerial view would be amazing

We left at 10 am and arrived home 10pm, but it was a great day and even the kids didn't throw any tantrums, a first . Next year we will definitely try to catch the parade and this time we'll catch it on one of its route's rather than at the Keukenhof.

Ok crafters, I have something special coming up next week, so mark this page! Oh all right, I'll give you a glimpse :-) Till next week, I'm off on Easter break , excited.  As usual, hoping to find some lovely crafty finds hehe.